See It: The Best Art Experiences in NYC

There has been a lot of fantastic art showcased in New York City. It is truly a great time to be an art lover of any kind. Many up-and-coming, as well as established artists have presented their best work and are worth a look. Here are a few notable artists whose names have been the talk of the town over the past few months. 

Abdullah Qandeel @ Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s hosted to the Duha auction on March 3^rd which included works from the likes of Roberta Louckx, Aileen Agopian, Lina Lazaar, Keith Haring and Mark Rothko. Out of all of the artists featured, none were more interesting than Abdullah Qandeel with his piece, ‘The Race.’ His unapologetic art is a bold expression of color, togetherness and radiance. Qandeel has had several successful shows in New York, Monte Carlo, and Jeddah, and he has painted in surreal environments such as Burning Man. Many of his recent work has been sold for very high prices, including his piece, “The Failure” which sold for a record-breaking $57,500, when he was only 24, and another of his works entitled “The Enemy Within,” which was scheduled to go for $30,000 sold for an astounding $209,000 at Sotheby’s. Qandeel’s work is collected by nearly a dozen of the world’s billionaire big shots including Kanye West, Charles Rockefeller, and Adrian Grenier. At only 26 years old, the Saudi Arabian artist already has quite the resume, and it seems as though it will only get more impressive as the years progress. Highlight viewings have recently ended but it won’t be long until Qandeel will be showcasing more works in NYC and beyond.

Peter Max Paints Sinatra
Peter Max, one of the most famous artists alive, paid tribute to Frank Sinatra in the way he knows best; through his art. Max produced 27 paintings of Ol’ Blue Eyes and hosted a private screening on March 2^nd attended by Nancy Sinatra and Tony Danza, to preview his work. Four of the pieces then moved to The New York Public Library where they are on showcase for free to the public. In addition to Max’s work, the exhibit will display rare items from the Sinatra Family personal collection, including unseen concert and interview footage, music and film documents from the Library, private photos, personal letters, awards and other keepsakes. Max visually reflects the legacy of Frank Sinatra to perfection with his works of art. On top of this, there will also be a variety of special brand partnerships, major film and television events and more throughout the year. This is all to honor Sinatra’s 100^th anniversary.

Salvador Dali at the National Arts Club
Three collections of Dali’s early works were shown at The National Arts Club to celebrate his new exhibit entitled Dali: The Golden Years. “The Chants Maldoror”, “12 Tribes of Israel”, and “Memories of Surrealism” all mark major graphic series in the métier of one of the great artists of the twentieth century. These are three of the best collections that could have been chosen to represent the breadth of Salvador Dali’s work. Using a method called “paranoiac-critical” and utilizing a stream-of-consciousness process to access his apparitions and hallucinations, his visions became the subject his “Les Chants de Maldoror” collection. The 13-print “12 Tribes of Israel” was decreased from 250-prints and will be displayed in full to celebrate the collections 25^th anniversary. The last the collections is titled “Memories of Surrealism” which consists of 12 hand-signed prints on paper, commissioned by Dr. Alex Rosenberg of the National Arts Club in 1971. The collection features butterflies, clocks, crutches, and Dali himself. It not only stands as a symbols of his artistic process but is also an ideal example of Dalian symbolism.

Nobel Salvage by Aner Candelario
The Ivy Brown Gallery in The OUT Hotel is currently hosting Aner Candelario’s newest exhibit entitled Nobel Salvage. Wanting to explore and understand the capabilities of paint, Aner jumped right into artistry with no formal training; the result is art that is larger, bolder, more defined and refined. His body of work represents years of experimentation, produced on found objects with mixed media paints and objects. There’s no doubt that Candelario has come a long way from doing live performance art in a jockstrap at “The Lure”, to a place like The Ivy Brown Gallery, which is dedicated to supporting emerging and established artists since 2001. The exhibit runs until August 9th so there’s plenty of time to experience this astonishing up-and-comers artwork.